What is Physical Therapy (Physiotherapy)?

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Physiotherapy is a branch of medical science that deals with restoring movement and functions of our body when affected by injury, illness or disability. It addresses the illnesses, or injuries that limit a person's abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. Physiotherapy is used to improve a patient's physical functions through physical examination, diagnosis, prognosis, patient education, physical intervention, rehabilitation, disease prevention and health promotion. Physiotherapy is provided as a primary care treatment or alongside, or in conjunction with, other medical services.

Physiotherapists maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent disease. The profession helps to encourage development and facilitate recovery, enabling people to stay in work while helping them remain independent for as long as possible. Physiotherapy is a science-based profession and takes a ‘whole person’ approach to health and wellbeing, which includes the patient’s general lifestyle. At the core is the patient’s involvement in their own care, through education, awareness, empowerment and participation in their treatment. You can benefit from physiotherapy at any time in your life. Physiotherapy helps with back pain or sudden injury, managing long-term medical conditions such as asthma, and in preparing for childbirth or a sporting event.

Physiotherapists use an individual's history and physical examination to arrive at a diagnosis and establish a management plan and, when necessary, incorporate the results of laboratory and imaging studies like X-rays, CT-scan, or MRI findings. The body of knowledge of physiotherapy is large, and therefore physical therapists may specialize in a specific clinical area. Physiotherapy has been found to be effective for improving outcomes, both in terms of pain and function, in multiple musculoskeletal conditions. A 2012 systematic review found evidence to support the use of spinal manipulation by physical therapists as a safe option to improve outcomes for lower back pain. Studies also show physiotherapy is effective for patients with other conditions. A 2012 systematic review about the effectiveness of physiotherapy treatment in asthma patients concluded that physiotherapy treatment may improve quality of life, promote cardiopulmonary fitness and inspiratory pressure, as well as reduce symptoms and medication use.

Physiotherapy is scientifically proven to be one of the most effective ways to treat and prevent pain and injury. It strengthens muscles and improves function. It not only reduces or removes pain for a short time, but also reduces the risk for future back-pain recurrence. Based on the particular diagnosis, varied methods are practiced by physiotherapists to treat patients. They may follow a pain management program, which helps get rid of inflammation and swelling for some. Orthopedic physical therapists diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal system including rehabilitation after orthopedic surgery, acute trauma such as sprains, strains, injuries of insidious onset such as tendinopathy, bursitis and deformities like scoliosis. This speciality of physiotherapy is most often found in the out-patient clinical setting. Orthopedic therapists are trained in the treatment of post-operative orthopedic procedures, fractures, acute sports injuries, arthritis, sprains, strains, back and neck pain, spinal conditions, and amputations.

Physiotherapy aids in suppressing or even treating various illnesses without or less use of medicines. Physiotherapy can get you on track to have pain-free movement, which is essential to be able to do your favourite physical activities, so preventing a lot of chronic diseases, and have some good time too. You can recover well from a large variety of conditions with the help of physiotherapy.